Wow, This Stuff Really is Important
Those of us studying Public Relations here at Auburn University do not realize just how lucky we are. Week after week many people complain about blog entries, website development, etc. and talk about how these tasks are nothing but “busy work.” Up until Wednesday afternoon I was one of those people. I hated these blog entries and I was completely overwhelmed learning about podcasts, RSS feeds, social media releases…the list goes on.
So what happened on Wednesday afternoon that transformed me into an eternally grateful student for all the information our professors are giving us? I spoke with people who went to school 5-20 years ago and did not have a clue about anything we have been learning in class.
I was at the Healthy Marriages, Healthy Families, and Responsible Fatherhood State Conference on Best practices doing research on my nonprofit organization for my final project in one of my classes. I began listening to a man and a woman going over their notes and preparing to present a workshop on Marketing and Public Relations strategies for nonprofit organizations. When I looked at their notes I realized just how “old school” they were and started talking to them about David Meerman Scott’s book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. They were so excited to hear everything I knew and asked me to speak at their workshop.
While I was presenting these new ideas of blogging, facebook, podcasts, etc. I was amazed at the amount of puzzled faces. They had so many questions and just didn’t quite understand why all of these things were becoming so important, so I recommended Scott’s book to every one of them. So many of the people in that workshop came up to me with questions afterward, but a few of them wrote my “young and foolish ideas” off.
We do not fully realize just how lucky we are to be going through college at a time when our field is so drastically transforming. So the next time I find myself whining about having to write another blog entry, I am going to remind myself of all the people who didn’t even know what a blog was and be grateful that my professors are giving me such hands on experience, not busy work.
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September 28th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Hey Jackie,
What a great story. Yeah, you are living in an interesting time and the skills you are developing now will be very valauable in the future.
You already know more about what PR is transforming into than most of the “professional” PR people I encounter when I speak at conferences.
Good for you for sharing your knowledge and thanks for recommending my book.
All the best,
David
September 28th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
The New PR Generation
I have completely come around to a new understanding of where the Public Relations profession is heading. It is so exciting to know that many young people about to enter the PR world will be equipped with an understanding of
September 28th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Jackie,
Enjoyed your post. I came from Mr. Scott’s Web Ink Now post and was very interested to hear that your professor is using his book in the curriculum. He said you would each be creating blogs and giving your impressions of each chapter. Are those going to be private blogs or can outsiders read those? I would be very interested as our new start up is using his book as a kind of Bible to generate buzz and promote our product.
Thanks and good luck in all you do,
Joe Freudenthal
September 30th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I know it can be overwhelming to try to figure out all these new tools at once. Remember, you don’t have to do it all. Even David Meerman Scott will admit he doesn’t use all the new tools.
It’s more important that you get the concept that “You are what you publish.” Just doing this blog is a great start. Good luck in school and after.
September 30th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Joe, I have now published links to all of their blogs.
You may access them here: Fall 2007 Student Blogs.
It is the PR Writing class that is reading Scott’s book. The other class, PR Style and Design, is also posting to the Loveliest Village with video interviews and writing about PR topics in their personal blogs.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:12 am
It is nice to know that Universities are starting to teach more than theory in their public relations courses. I graduated in 1992 from a “Big 10″ school in the midwest. Although I obtained a well-rounded Liberal Arts/Comm/PR concentration education, most of my true education was received through “trial by fire” on the job. I’ve kept up with the social media phenomenon and all the new ways to manage the communication between the company and its publics, and luckily have been able to put most of them into practice on a regular basis at work. It helps to work in the software or technology industry. I just hope people remember it’s the true relationships you build (as opposed to one of your static pictured “friends” on Facebook for e.g.), the knowledge you garner and effectively use from your customers, and a command of the English language that provide some of the key stones in the bridge that spans your career.
Jackie is way more ahead of the game than I was when I graduated. Keep up the good work at Auburn.
Alex
October 11th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Thank you for all your comments and advice! I would be more than happy to tell you more about what we are learning in class if you are interested. And thank you so much to Mr. Scott for taking such interest in our class and writing about my experience on his blog!